NorthShore CEO: Northwestern wants our merger with Advocate to fail

Chicago-based Northwestern Memorial HealthCare wants the Federal Trade Commission to win the lawsuit it brought to stop the merger between Evanston, Ill.-based NorthShore University HealthSystem and Downers Grove, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care, according to NorthShore's President and CEO Mark Neaman.

Mr. Neaman delivered this news while on the witness stand Thursday in an antitrust hearing over the proposed Advocate-NorthShore merger, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Under oath, Mr. Neaman testified that he met with Northwestern President and CEO Dean Harrison in late January at the Chicago Club. According to Mr. Neaman, Mr. Harrison said he wanted the FTC to prevail in its lawsuit to stop the merger because Northwestern would like to pursue a merger with NorthShore.

Mr. Neaman raised concerns about a potential NorthShore-Northwestern merger to Mr. Harrison, including the likelihood that the FTC would block such a deal.

"He told me not to worry about the FTC. He said Northwestern had a way to get around the FTC," Mr. Neaman testified, according to the report.